Despite being the first molecular disease ever discovered, and despite being the most common genetic disease in the US, sickle cell disease (SCD), a disease that predominantly affects people from African descent, is still a truly devastating disease with no universal cure. Long under- and unequally-served by the medical and research communities, SCD is getting renewed attention as CRISPR researchers set their sights on finally curing this disease with gene editing.

In this special seminar, Michael Friend discusses this forgotten disease, his relationship with SCD advocate, Shakir Cannon, and how the scientific and minority communities can move forward. The work of Michael and Shakir has helped bridge minority communities with medical researchers to create a dialog surrounding the promise of precision medicine and gene editing.